Waldron falls short in district opener

Tuesday

Feb 26, 2013 at 9:30 AM

By Ed Patino

ed.patino@hillsdale.netPITTSFORD — Alexis Birdsell, Kaila Fidler and the Waldron High School girls basketball team didn't go down without a fight.The season came to an unwanted end for the Spartans with a 58-48 loss to the Lenawee Christian Cougars in the opening round of the Class D district tournament Monday at Pittsford High School.Waldron (5-16) trailed throughout the game, but made a furious rally in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Lenawee Christian (6-15) cooled off the Spartans after that, hitting nine free throws to close the game on a 14-4 run.The Cougars advanced to Wednesday's semifinal against Morenci. The winner will face either Pittsford or Camden-Frontier in Friday's district final.Monday's game was a battle of youth (Waldron) against experience (LCS). While the Cougars started five seniors, Waldron had two seniors, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman in its starting lineup, plus eighth-grader Kylie Shepherd coming off the bench. LCS took a 42-29 lead early in the fourth quarter on Laurel Mason's jumper, but the Spartans fought back with a 15-3 run over the next three minutes.Lindsey Lockwood started the rally with a traditional 3-point play, then Fidler buried a missile, making it 42-37. After a pair of defensive stops, Waldron pulled to within one after consecutive inside baskets by Lockwood and Birdsell."Our effort changed in the fourth quarter and we executed well against their trap and got layups," Waldron coach John Burk said. "Our senior leadership stepped up, and that's what you expect. It was a fun game to be involved in."Nicole Robideau answered with a basket for LCS, but a jumper by Birdsell and a free throw by Lockwood made it 44-44 midway through the frame."We scouted Waldron earlier and they played above what we saw," LCS coach Joe Long said. "They deserve a lot of credit for the way they battled."Nikki Schaefer regained the lead for the Cougars with a traditional 3-point play and started their closing surge. While the Spartans went cold from the floor, Courtney Borton and Laurel Schaaf combined for six straight free throws, making it 53-44. Fidler answered with a jumper for Waldron, but two more free throws by Schaefer and a layup by Mason put LCS up 57-46 in the final minute.Alicia Roney and Haley Roth scored in the paint, bringing Waldron to within 9-7 midway through the first quarter. The Spartans would not score again until 2:20 went by in the second quarter. In that time, LCS scored 14 straight points, including back-to-back 3's by Schaaf and Mason, and a layup from Mason made it 23-7.Makayla Spangler stopped the run with a jumper for Waldron, then a putback by Fidler and traditional 3-point play by Birdsell pulled the Spartans to within eight. The Cougars pushed their lead back up to 14, but Waldron closed the half with five straight points and trailed 29-20 at halftime."We came and played as hard as we possibly could, but when you're young you're going to have mistakes," Burk said. "But I'm proud of the effort and it's a good learning experience."The teams exchanged baskets throughout the third quarter. Baskets from Birdsell and Fidler pulled Waldron to within nine, but Mason hit a layup in the final minute, making it 40-29.Birdsell and Fidler both scored 14 points in their final game for Waldron. Lockwood added seven points, while Roney scored five points. Spangler finished with four points.Mason scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Cougars. Schaefer added 12 points, while Borton had 10 points. Schaaf finished with seven points."Laurel and Courtney stepped up and scored for us, and it's nice to put five seniors on the floor," Long said. "The girls played hard tonight."